Parents of Punjabi youth urge govt to help bring back son arrested in Pakistan

Jalandhar: Parents of Punjabi youth Sharandeep Singh, in his early twenties, who was arrested by Pakistan Rangers recently, have said that they were desperately looking for him after he went missing on Nov 2. They said he was a good wrestler but got hooked on drugs after slipping into depression when one of his hands was damaged in a fight. "He might have crossed the border under the influence of some drug or intoxicant. We have urged the Govt of India to get him back," they said. Sharandeep's parents, Satnam Singh and Amarjit Kaur, who live in the village of Bhoypur near Shahkot, said that Sharandeep was their only child. They also lodged a missing report with Shahkot police on Nov 7. "When he left home around 4 pm on Nov 2 with his friend Mandeep Singh, he appeared under the intense influence of nasha (intoxicant). When he did not return, we started looking for him, and his friend was also not forthcoming. After he did not return for two days, we questioned Mandeep once again, and he said that he left him in the village of Ratoke. Then on Nov 7, we lodged a missing report and kept on looking for him," they said on Wednesday."He was a very good wrestler, but after one of his hands was damaged in a fight, he slipped into depression and started taking drugs. Last year, we got him admitted to a de-addiction centre and now also wanted to get him treated, but he went missing," they said.They said that they came to know about his arrest through social media in Pakistan. "We did not know if he was alive. We are very worried. We request the govt to get him back," they said.Meanwhile, police officials said that they checked their record and Sharandeep had a minor case of a quarrel against him. They said that a DDR was registered on Nov 7 at Shahkot police station after he had gone missing. MSID:: 126162147 413 |